What an eventful week!

Apologies for not updating the blog, I have been in hospital since Monday evening and got home today.

It all kicked off on Monday night, I aspirated again and got very breathless, ended up calling out an ambulance. I waited in A&E from around 12 am till 4-30 am to get to the ward. Heard some funny stuff while waiting in A&E, the lady in the cubicle next to me had a stoma bag which was leaking and needed to be changed. There was a female nurse and a male health care assistant with her. As they were cleaning her up, the nurse told her to roll towards her which would leave her back facing the male HCA. What she said next brought a smile to my face "Feel free to take advantage"... She was 73, such a great spirit and she was very poorly.

Eventually I was moved to the medical assessment unit where I was next to a lady of 89. Well.... did I think I would hear something funny from her too?

She was talking to a young 17 year old girl who had overdosed, telling her that she only had one life and she should make the most of it, get rid of her boyfriend who wasn't helping her situation and to not get involved in this sex thing, well, the nurse who was with me and I were not prepared for what we heard next. This lady talked about sex and told the young girl that she "didn't want to get a sore fanny"!!! Well, we were in hysterics.

She was such a sweet lady, so funny, better than the one on the other ward I was transferred to the next day. she was miserable, told me I should be put in a room and the door should be shut and to "shut up coughing for christ sake" Such a happy soul : )

Today I had a barium swallow and this has determined that I did have aspiration pneumonia again but I also had asthma. While waiting I read some of my notes and saw that when I was diagnosed in 2006 , I was described in a letter to another Dr who would perform my VATS op as "an unfortunate 47 year old woman". There is nothing unfortunate about me, they just didn't know it then : )

In complete contrast to that, a Dr who is known as the Brigadiere, a very much respected person in the hospital, crouched down in front of me and seemed in awe of the fact that I am still very much surviving. He said he was astounded that I had mesothelioma, a life threatening illness and if that wasn't enough, to then have the TOF, another life threatening condition was astonishing and that I had survived all the years I have, especially with the mesothelioma. It's such a good feeling when some people in the medical profession are in total respect of what has happened.

I had the barium done with one of the nurses calling me a "poor little chicken" because of the coughing and spluttering. What was wonderful was that the Frederick (TOF) was causing no problems at all and Theo (Meso) had been well behaved too.

I have got some steroids to sort out the asthma and will be back to the Dr's to get some puffers for it.

Meanwhile, I am off to Taunton on Tuesday to see Dr TOF, it was interesting in the barium unit that the Dr who was analysing the data knew Dr TOF and described him as a little eccentric, Well, I think he is a wonderful character who is very excitable.

I have to say that my hospital stay has been wonderful, the staff were fabulous on every ward. When I got to the respiratory ward I was greeted with "Are you the Debbie Brewer who we knew from last year?" Felt like I was with family. I am back home now and have created some new rules regarding the xbox and chores, 2 unhappy boys, Rich has gone to stay with his dad for a couple of days and Kieran kicked off in the only way he knows, verbal abuse. It is all quiet now and because Kieran kicked off, he has no xbox tomorrow. He will learn one day who the parent is, until then, it will be tantrums.